Which one of the following statements about the moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress is not correct ?

The Moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress (1885-1905) were primarily constitutionalists who relied on petitions and prayers [c4]. While they pioneered the 'Drain of Wealth' theory to criticize British economic exploitation [t1, t6] and understood India's role as a supplier of raw materials for Britain's imperial economy [t2], they did not initially advocate for the boycott of foreign goods. The boycott method was a radical departure from their conventional political methods and was only reluctantly accepted after 1905 due to the Partition of Bengal and pressure from militant nationalists [c1, c2]. Furthermore, the Moderates' social base was largely urban and upper-class, leading them to largely ignore rural issues like zamindari exploitation to avoid internal social conflict [t1]. Therefore, statement 2 is incorrect as a general characteristic of Moderate leadership prior to the specific pressures of the Swadeshi movement.

Sources

1. [1] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 14: Nationalist Movement 1905—1918 > THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, 1905-1914 > p. 247
2. [2] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 2: Rise of Extremism and Swadeshi Movement > 2.2 Anti-Partition Movement > p. 19
3. [3] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 2: Rise of Extremism and Swadeshi Movement > Introduction > p. 16
4. [4] https://gacbe.ac.in/pdf/ematerial/18BPA66S-U2.pdf
5. [5] https://sirsyedcollege.ac.in/crm/public/uploads/download_image/EixYixYlnOXqytBUyRnjEPlHomhoVK.pdf
6. [6] https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/19929/1/Unit-10.pdf